Savannah’s squares are colorful, bright, historic oases that cater to pedestrians even as they slow down traffic on the city’s busy streets.

Part of Gen. James E. Oglethorpe’s original city plan, they are named for presidents, politicians, war heroes, governors and, in the case of Whitefield Square, a preacher.

The squares once served as markets and as gathering places for the residents in the adjacent houses. In Oglethorpe’s time, when each house was expected to provide one armed man to the local defense force, military drills were held in the squares.

The blocks on the eastern and western sides of the squares were called trust lots in the original plan, and major buildings, such as churches, banks, schools and courthouses, were placed on those sites.

In the 1930s, some 200 years after Oglethorpe unveiled his plan, the city made drastic alterations to it. Three squares – Franklin, Liberty and Elbert – were butchered to bring tourists on U.S. 17, then a major north-south highway, through downtown streets. More....